PACOM Commander Requested Additional B-52 Support During Last North Korean Provocation Cycle
This just goes to show how important B-52’s based out of Guam are to supporting deterrence on the Korean peninsula:
The U.S. Pacific forces commander requested that an additional six B-52 bombers remain on Guam in August when military tensions were running high on the Korean Peninsula, according to a U.S. military commander.
Gen. Robin Rand, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command, revealed the request during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, explaining the roles the U.S. strategic bombers play in defending the country and its allies.
“Most recently, in North Korea, when there was a flareup back in August, we had our six B-52s that have been on a continuous bomber presence at Guam for the last decade nonstop, and we are in the middle of a swapout. Six were going in to replace the six that were there,” Rand said.
“And the PACOM commander immediately contacted the Joint Staff and Air Force Global Strike and said, ‘Could we leave those six additional B-52s longer? We really like the presence,'” he said, referring to Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris.
Rand did not say whether the request was accepted and the additional six bombers had remained there.
In another example, the general also said that in 2013, B-52s and B-2s flew nonstop to South Korea and dropped training ordnance on a bombing range as a show of force against North Korea when the communist nation ratcheted up tensions with near-daily threats of war against the South and the U.S. [Yonhap]
